Ahmed is a young Bahraini. Like most Bahrainis, he is naive. On May 7, 2004, Ahmed was
arrested on drug-related charges. He has been imprisoned at the CID headquarters since
then. Ahmed is being treated as a criminal. He is being discriminated against. Ahmed is
being threathened and all his confessions have been extracted under duress. He is not
alone.

There are 64 people held in custody, some of whom have been there for nine months... All
of them have gone on a peaceful hunger strike. All they want is JUSTICE. All they are
seeking is to be put on trial immediately or released on bail until their trial
dates.Since May, Ahmed has lost his job. He did not see his baby daughter who was born
after his wife went into premature labour because of the stress.

Ahmed was picked up from outside his home at 10pm. He did not have a chance to tell his
wife what was happening to him. The first his family knew of his whereabouts was three
days later. In effect, Ahmed was kidnapped by the authorities. Ahmed has suffered the pain
and indignity in silence. In Ahmed's agony is Bahrain's shame. Is anyone listening?

2.27.2005

Justice in Bahrain...so/so

Hurray to justice in the magical kingdom of Bahrain. Way to go my country.

Here's what appeared in today's GDN about the case:

" Worker acquittedMANAMA: A former government employee, accused of being in possession of official documents without authorisation, was acquitted by the High Criminal Court yesterday for lack of evidence. Mohammed Kawari, a former General Directorate of Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs employee, claimed he was handed some documents which he assumed were for him, which was why he kept them in his possession. He also denied they were confidential documents. "

Shouldn't this man be fully interviewed to get his side of the story, how many days he spent in prison, how he was treated and how he feels about the system and justice ?

The report fails to mention when he was arrested and on what grounds and the passports and naturalisation furour in parliament at the time.

Is Mr Kawari proud to be Bahraini ? Can he hold his head up high and tell his children to respect the system which abused him, dehumanised him, broke his spirit and tarnished his reputation forever ?

This isn't whining...This is lamenting a country which had all the ingredients to continue to be an oasis in the middle of an arid desert...but has instead become a burial ground for its own people.